


Pass on the Summer

by JumanjiiCostco



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, One Shot Collection, Soltryce Academy, Young Love, but this way we have to live with it, each chapter is a different stage of their life, soltryce trio, trent ikithon is trash and we all know it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-08-07 07:45:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16404233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JumanjiiCostco/pseuds/JumanjiiCostco
Summary: Three Zemnian kids get plucked out of their home town and thrown together in a big, fancy magic school. Adventure, hardship, and education are their future. And if they fall in love in the process? Well that's just the cruelty of fate.(A series of one-shots dedicated to the Soltryce Academy Three, and their lives leading up to, during, and after The Incident.)





	1. Chapter 1

Caleb can’t remember the last time he was this happy. Well, that’s not quite true. There are parts of his childhood that could, if he pressed himself, hold a candle to this moment. His first acceptance letter to the Academy. The moment he realized he wasn’t going alone… Entry day… His first  _real_ magic, watching as flame licked up a shoddy wooden pole…

“Are you alright,  _schatz_?” Astrid leans in, the press of her warmth against the line of his back. Pink tinges his ears. “You look distant.”   


“ _Ja_.  _Ja,_  I’m fine.” Despite himself, he leans back slightly, and maybe it’s the booze talking, or maybe it’s the Several Gold Worth dress Trent bought her, but gods, does it feel good. A few feet away, Eodwulf chokes on a laugh. It’s all friendly, all gentle, encouraging, even. 

Astrid’s grin is wicked over Caleb’s shoulder, and Eodwulf’s is a mirror image. Or at least, Caleb can assume as much, given experience. Her hand squeezes his forearm as she detaches, smooth and lithe, slipping around him to stand in his line of sight–and yes, gods, yes, he was so right. They’re so much, so beautiful, standing there with matching grins. So  _alive._

Eodwulf moves first, shifts to cross his arms over his chest, and the shoulders of his shirt rustle with the movement. It’s a size too small, or maybe just half a size too small, but the blame can hardly be placed on Trent. It’s not  _his_ fault that the young man is finally beginning to bulk up, putting the farmer’s frame to good use.  _Spätzünder_  his mother would have called him. A late bloomer. 

“You are flush,  _schatz_. Did our  _liebling_  Astrid embarrass you?”   


It’s all in good jest, but Caleb’s cheeks light up further. Heat crawls its steady way up to his cheekbones, where it stands at high flags of color, sharp in the contrast of his dark brown and green attire. “ _Nein_.”

A click of his tongue follows and the disbelief is clear. They could always see right through him. 

Astrid laughs, steps between her men and spins, a tornado of red and yellow silks. She is fierce and natural and lively. She is vibrant and deeply, deeply wild. She snatches up both of their hands in her own. 

“What do you say we ditch the party, mm?” 


	2. Chapter 2

“Will you light this for me,  _liebling_?” Astrid holds a cigarette between two thin, calloused fingers. It’s cheap, but it smells like home, and all three of them are helpless to kick the itch. Caleb’s lips part, the beginning of a smart-ass reply beginning in the hollow of his chest, as Eodwulf produces a match from his back pocket and strikes it against a nearby stone. As if willed by the gods, it catches, and it’s only his self-satisfied grin that gives him away. “ _Danke_.” 

“ _Bitte_.” There’s a beat of quiet as he stretches, long and lithe, muscles rippling under dark skin, and leans back against the column again. 

Caleb’s fingers itch to reach out and brush the curls from his face, skim along his jawline, press into the sharp lines of his collarbones. His palms catch flame instead, and he extends a hand, mildly, the corner of his lips turning up in a grin, to Astrid. “Better late than never,  _ja_?” 

Astrid’s eyes sparkle as she watches the flames. Clasping the cigarette between her lips, she runs her fingers through the very tips of the flame, just barely avoiding burns. For all of a moment, she looks predatory, focused and deadly. For all of a moment, she doesn’t look anything like the woman he loves. The woman Eodwulf also loves. She pulls away, gaze landing on Caleb once again, lips turning up in a grin. “ _Ja._ ” 

Caleb’s heart rate picks up, and he can’t tell if it’s because of her smile or the look that just left her eyes. He catches Eodwulf’s gaze over her shoulder, and it’s cautious. A poor excuse for a smile twists at his lips. There is a moment of quiet, and then… “Pass me a cigarette,  _liebling_?” 

They all settle, any ruffled feathers falling back in place, and Caleb takes one, too. It smells like his childhood. Like the razing of farmland. Like home. And his palms burn with the familiarity. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They are so, so special and so, so in love.

He calls them special. Tells them that they are the future of the Empire, that they’re the strongest candidates he’s seen in a decade. He reminds them that the Empire is their home, their pride and glory, it is where their loyalty should lie, always and forever. It’s like a fever dream--everything blurs at the edges, moves a little too fast, but there’s no room for denial. The Empire is their home, their loyalty. They’re special. 

And they’re so fucking in love. 

He takes them out of the academy with the promise of smaller classes, one on one tutoring. A world of magic they’ve never experienced at their fingertips. The days are hard and the nights are long and there’s so little sleep. So little time alone. But it’s all worth it. All sacrifice, all effort is due. It will all pay off when they take their places as mages. 

“We’re almost done.” There’s a little less than an hour until dinner and they’re stretched out in the field behind the training house. Astrid is lithe and elegant as ever, hair fanned out around her head like roots digging into the ground, solidifying her here, in this moment.   


Eodwulf is beside her, stretching his arms above his head, flexing and reminding his body what it is to feel, as he stares at the stars. He merely hums in response, hand patting along the ground to find hers. The contrast is beautiful, alabaster white against oakwood brown. They both smile, content. 

Caleb sits close enough to graze Eodwulf when he breathes and watches the last colors of the sun fade from the sky. Oranges and reds fade out like fire, he notes with a grin. It all comes back to fire. 

Astrid’s voice is prodding, a call back to the ether. “Are you listening,  _liebling_?”   


“ _Ja._ ” He turns to look at her, look at  _them_ , and almost forgets to breathe. They’re just so fucking  _beautiful_. “We’re almost done.”   


“Next week, we take our final test. And then...” A broad sweep of her arms, the faint blues of bruising turning to nasty greens, so stark and bright and obvious. No one flinches. “The rest of our lives.”   


Eodwulf hums again and Caleb echoes the sound and Astrid gives her boys a look of utter amusement. “Is that all you can say?” 

“Alternatively, I could talk about it for hours.” Caleb replies, lazily draping himself across Eodwulf to grab at their already joined hands. “But you’ve heard it already, and I like listening to you talk.”   


Another rumble of agreement from Eodwulf as Astrid shrugs. But this time, he speaks, uses his free hand to point up at the sky. “You see that star up there?” He pauses to wait for their confirmation. They both offer it readily, derailed by his commentary. “It’s not a star at all. It’s another planet. Another  _world_.” 

He leaves it at that, leaves them both to wonder why exactly that was on his mind. And they both know better than to ask. There’s another forty-three minutes until dinner and it’s better spent listening to Astrid predict their futures. 

They’re so, so special and so, so in love. 


End file.
